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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

别滁

Parting from Chuzhou

欧阳修

Ouyang Xiu

离别Parting 醉Drunkenness

花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行。
我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声。

Bright with blossoms, willows lightly clear—before the flowers they pour wine to see me off.
I too shall simply be drunk as on ordinary days; do not let the strings and pipes sound a parting air.

Listen

Meaning

On leaving Chuzhou, Ouyang Xiu asks his hosts to send him off as if it were any ordinary day—drunk, and without music that would betray farewell. The quatrain turns parting into composed ease, revealing his warm bonds with the people and his unruffled grace.

花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行。我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Amid dazzling blossoms and light, clear willows, wine is poured before the flowers to see me depart. I too will just be drunk as usual; only do not let the music play a tune of parting.

[Structure] The first couplet sets the bright farewell scene; the second states the poet's composed wish, from scene to feeling.

[Imagery] 'Bright blossoms, light clear willows' paints spring's radiance against the quiet ache of leave-taking; 'drunk as on ordinary days' hides feeling in habit. The closing 'do not let the strings sound parting' gathers all into one gentle charge. A model of Ouyang Xiu's 'plain yet deep' parting verse: easy on the surface, profound beneath.

【白话串讲】欧阳修写《别滁》：“花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行”——“我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声”——他要离开滁州了，只想像平常一样醉——别让音乐奏出离别的调子——他写离别的从容。【意象与手法】此诗写离别，以旷达写离别，是欧阳修的名篇。前二句写送别：「花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行」写花光浓烂柳轻明、酌酒花前送我行——写尽酌酒花前的送我行；后二句写旷达：「我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声」写我亦且如常日醉、莫教弦管作离声——写尽莫教弦管的离声。全诗以旷达写离别，写尽酌酒花前的送我行与莫教弦管的离声，是欧阳修的代表作。【情感与主旨】此诗写离别，以旷达写离别，是欧阳修的名篇。此诗为欧阳修离滁州之作，写其滁州饯别时旷达的胸怀。欧阳修此诗写其别滁时的情怀。此诗写花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行；我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声。此诗写送别：花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行——写花光浓烂柳轻明、酌酒花前送我行，写尽酌酒花前的送我行；我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声——写我亦且如常日醉、莫教弦管作离声，写尽莫教弦管的离声。全诗以旷达写离别——那「酌酒花前送我行」写尽酌酒花前的送我行，「莫教弦管作离声」写尽莫教弦管的离声，写尽酌酒花前的送我行与莫教弦管的离声，是理解欧阳修离别诗的重要篇章。【名句点睛】常考「花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行」写酌酒花前的送我行；「我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声」写莫教弦管的离声；以及全诗以旷达写离别、以劝慰写旷达的手法。

Background

Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), styled Yongshu, known as Drunken Old Man and Layman of Six Ones, was a native of Yongfeng, Jizhou (present-day Jiangxi), a Northern Song statesman and man of letters who reached the offices of Privy Censor and Vice Grand Councilor; among the 'Eight Great Prose Masters,' posthumously titled Lord Wenzhong. This poem was written when he left Chuzhou after two years as prefect to become prefect of Yangzhou; the local people feasted him before the flowers. Self-styled 'Drunken Old Man,' he had delighted in Chuzhou's hills and streams, and now, departing, comforted himself with 'drunk as on ordinary days,' unwilling to let parting music disturb the bond—plain words holding deep affection and an unshaken composure.

此诗写离别，以旷达写离别，是欧阳修的名篇。欧阳修（1007—1072），字永叔，号醉翁、六一居士，吉州永丰（今江西永丰）人，北宋政治家、文学家，官至枢密副使、参知政事，为「唐宋八大家」之一，谥文忠，世称「欧阳文忠公」。此诗为欧阳修离滁州之作，写其滁州饯别时旷达的胸怀。欧阳修此诗写其别滁时的情怀。此诗写花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行；我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声。此诗写送别：「花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行」写花光浓烂柳轻明、酌酒花前送我行——写尽酌酒花前的送我行（花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行）；「我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声」写我亦且如常日醉、莫教弦管作离声——写尽莫教弦管的离声（我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声）。全诗以旷达写离别，写尽酌酒花前的送我行与莫教弦管的离声，是理解欧阳修离别诗的重要篇章。又，此诗作于欧阳修贬知滁州两年后改知扬州离任之时，滁人于花前设宴相送；作者自号醉翁，本以滁州山水为乐，今当离滁，故以「如常日醉」自宽，「莫教弦管作离声」更是不忍以离声搅扰离情，于平易语中见深厚的情谊与处变不惊的胸襟。

Art

The craft unfolds on four fronts. First, scene frames the farewell: 'bright blossoms, light clear willows' sets the radiant spring. Second, plain sketch shows ease: 'I too shall simply be drunk as on ordinary days' states his ordinary drunkenness. Third, consolation carries the leave-taking: 'do not let the strings sound parting' turns a wish into comfort. Fourth, reverse contrast deepens poise: the bright blossoms throw the quiet ache into relief. The first half paints the scene, the second the ease—from scene to feeling, the classic 'parting through drink' curve. The opening bright willows contrast the hidden regret; 'drunk as usual' hides feeling in the old 'drunken old man' persona; the closing charge gathers a thousand words into one instruction—Ouyang Xiu's 'plain yet deep' manner at its finest.

此诗的艺术特色可从四个方面解析。其一，以写景写送别。「花光浓烂柳轻明」以写景写送别——那「酌酒花前送我行」写尽酌酒花前的送我行，以写景写尽酌酒花前的送我行。其二，以白描写旷达。「我亦且如常日醉」以白描写旷达——那「莫教弦管作离声」写尽莫教弦管的离声，以白描写尽莫教弦管的离声。其三，以劝慰写离情。「莫教弦管作离声」以劝慰写离情——那「且如常日醉」写尽如常日的醉，以劝慰写尽莫教弦管的离声。其四，以反衬写豁达。「花光浓烂」以反衬写豁达——那「柳轻明」写尽柳条的轻明，以反衬写尽酌酒花前的送我行。此外，此诗前写酌酒花前的送我行，后写莫教弦管的离声，由景及情，正是离别诗「以醉写别」的写法。四重手法，使此诗以旷达写离别，写尽酌酒花前的送我行与莫教弦管的离声，是欧阳修的代表作。又，此诗首句「花光浓烂柳轻明」以春景之明丽反衬离别之怅惘，花愈明而别愈难；「我亦且如常日醉」一句，语似寻常，实则暗藏「醉翁之意不在酒」的滁州旧事，以醉遣愁、以醉藏情；末句「莫教弦管作离声」更以劝止之语作结，把千言万语收束于一声叮嘱，含蓄隽永，正是欧阳修「平易之中见深婉」的典范。

Allusions

The language draws on the parting and ease tradition. 'Bright blossoms' and 'light clear willows' recall Lu You's 'another village where willows darken and flowers brighten'; 'pour wine' echoes Li Bai's 'a pot of wine among the flowers'; 'see me off' recalls Wang Wei's 'urge you to drink one more cup.' 'Drunk as on ordinary days' evokes his own 'the drunkard's heart is not in the wine' (Record of the Drunken Old Man's Pavilion); 'strings and pipes' the music; 'parting air' the farewell song (the parting tune). The poem weaves blossoms, willows, wine, seeing-off, ordinary drunkenness, strings, and parting song into one easy farewell—Ouyang Xiu's plain, sketch-loving craft in the parting tradition.

此诗的用语深植于离别与旷达传统。「花光」令人想到「花光」写花光的意象——也令人想到「花光如颊」的意象；「浓烂」令人想到「浓烂」写繁盛的意象——也令人想到「浓烂花光」的意象；「柳轻明」令人想到「柳轻明」写柳明的意象——也令人想到「柳暗花明又一村」（陆游）的意象；「酌酒」令人想到「酌酒」写饮酒的意象——也令人想到「花间一壶酒」（李白）的意象；「送我行」令人想到「送我行」写送行的意象——也令人想到「劝君更尽一杯酒」（王维）的意象；「常日醉」令人想到「常日醉」写常醉的意象——也令人想到「醉翁之意不在酒」（欧阳修）的意象；「弦管」令人想到「弦管」写弦管的意象——也令人想到「弦管相催」的意象；「离声」令人想到「离声」写离歌的意象——也令人想到「骊歌一曲」的意象。全诗化用花光、浓烂、柳轻明、酌酒、送我行、常日醉、弦管、离声的意象，以旷达写离别，正是欧阳修「平易」而善白描、承王维送别传统写旷达之本领。

Commentary

This quatrain is ranked among Ouyang Xiu's finest parting poems and a representative Song poem of composed leave-taking. Song critics praised it as 'parting through ease, plain and natural'; the opening lines are often cited. Its special worth is condensing, in a short piece, the blossoms, the brightness, the light willows, the wine, the flowers, the seeing-off, the ordinary drunkenness, the strings, the parting air—all in Ouyang Xiu's hand. With his 'Record of the Drunken Old Man's Pavilion' it shows two Chuzhou faces: one 'the joy lies in the hills and streams,' one 'drunk as on ordinary days'; one prose, one poem. For readers it opens his parting verse and stands as a classic of easy farewell—the unplayed parting song still speaking of wine before the flowers across the ages.

此诗历来被推为欧阳修离别诗的名篇，也是宋诗写旷达离别的代表。历代论者对此诗评价极高：宋人评此诗「以旷达写离别，平易自然」；近人更指出「花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行」写酌酒花前的送我行，是此诗的名句。在诗歌史上，此诗的特殊价值在于：它以短章写尽酌酒花前的送我行与莫教弦管的离声——那花光，那浓烂，那柳轻明，那酌酒，那花前，那送我行，那我亦，那且如，那常日醉，那莫教，那弦管，那作离声，都写尽了欧阳修笔下的别滁；那「莫教弦管作离声」更以劝慰写尽莫教弦管的离声。此诗与欧阳修《醉翁亭记》「醉翁之意不在酒」同为滁州名作，一写「在乎山水之间也」的醉翁亭，一写「我亦且如常日醉」的别滁；一写记，一写诗。两作对读，可见欧阳修滁州情怀的两面。对于今日读者，此诗是理解欧阳修离别诗的窗口，也是宋诗写旷达离别的经典——那莫教弦管的离声，穿越千年，仍在诉说着酌酒花前的送我行。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain (Qijue)七言绝句

Rhyme Seven-character quatrain; rhymes on 'xing' (行) and 'sheng' (声) (Geng-Qing class), first line included in the rhyme.七绝押「行」「声」（庚青韵），首句入韵

Tone pattern A seven-character quatrain with sustained level-tone rhyme, first line joining the rhyme; its bright, swift music suits the poem's easy composure.此诗为七言绝句，押平声韵，首句入韵，音节明快，正合旷达的明快。

Reading note This is a seven-character quatrain—'bright blossoms, light clear willows; wine poured before the flowers to see me off. I too shall simply be drunk as on ordinary days; do not let the strings sound a parting air'—rhyming on level tone (行, 声), first line included, with a bright, swift cadence. The first half paints the farewell, the second states the ease, closing on 'do not let the strings sound parting'—Ouyang Xiu's plain manner. Read the seeing-off lines with a bright tone and the closing with easy, lingering weight.此诗为七言绝句——「花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行。我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声」，押平韵（行、声），首句入韵，音节明快。全诗以旷达写离别：前写酌酒花前的送我行（花光浓烂柳轻明），后写莫教弦管的离声（我亦且如常日醉）。短章四句，前写送别，后写旷达，以「莫教弦管作离声」写尽莫教弦管的离声，正见欧阳修「平易」的本色。诵读此诗，宜以明快的语调读「酌酒花前送我行」的送别，以旷达的语调读「莫教弦管作离声」的旷达，结句要读得明快而有余韵，方能传达出欧阳修的平易自然。欧阳修绝句以「平易」著称，此诗正是其离别诗的典范。

Line by line

花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行

Bright with blossoms, willows lightly clear—before the flowers they pour wine to see me off.

花光浓烂柳轻明，酌酒花前送我行。

Flower-light is rich and bright, willows pale and clear; they pour wine before the blossoms to speed me on my way.

此二句是全诗写送别的核心，以花光浓烂柳轻明写柳轻明，以酌酒花前送我行写送我行，写尽酌酒花前的送我行，是千古名句。「花光浓烂柳轻明」写花光浓烂柳轻明——那「花光浓烂」写花光浓烂，「柳轻明」写柳轻明，写尽花光浓烂的柳轻明；「酌酒花前送我行」写酌酒花前送我行——那「酌酒花前」写酌酒花前，「送我行」写送我行，写尽酌酒花前的送我行。这句的深意在于：它以「花光浓烂柳轻明」的柳轻明与「酌酒花前送我行」的送我行，写尽酌酒花前的送我行——花光浓烂柳轻明，那「花光浓烂柳轻明」写尽花光浓烂的柳轻明——花光浓烂柳轻明，正是花明柳翠的写照，那「柳轻明」写尽酌酒花前的送我行；酌酒花前送我行，那「酌酒花前送我行」写尽酌酒花前的送我行——酌酒花前送我行，正是花前饯别的写照，那「送我行」写尽酌酒花前的送我行；那「花光浓烂柳轻明」写尽花光浓烂的柳轻明，那「酌酒花前送我行」写尽酌酒花前的送我行，一写柳轻明，一写送我行，写尽酌酒花前的送我行——花明柳翠而花前饯别，正是送别的写照；此二句以柳轻明、送我行写尽酌酒花前的送我行，也为下文的常日醉作铺垫，也让此二句成为全诗写送别的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「花光浓烂柳条轻明，在花前酌酒送我远行」，则失其平易；唯以「花光浓烂柳轻明」写柳轻明、「酌酒花前送我行」写送我行，写尽酌酒花前的送我行，也让此二句成为全诗写送别的核心。

Ouyang Xiu leaves Chuzhou, where he has governed well and been loved, and the farewell is set in the loveliest possible season. The first line is pure spring—flowers blazing, willow wands luminous—but the beauty is not escaping: it is the backdrop for a send-off, neighbors pouring wine before the blossoms to speed him on. The warmth of the scene—bright light, clear willows, poured wine—is the point: his leaving is a beloved man's leaving, and the fair weather belongs to the crowd's affection. It sets up the famous turn of the next couplet. A flat "the flowers were blooming as they saw me off" would lose the civic warmth; the specific brightness is the evidence of it.

我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声

I too shall simply be drunk as on ordinary days; do not let the strings and pipes sound a parting air.

我亦且如常日醉，莫教弦管作离声。

I too will simply get drunk as on any ordinary day; don't let the strings and pipes strike up a farewell tune.

此二句是全诗写旷达的核心，以我亦且如常日醉写常日醉，以莫教弦管作离声写离声，写尽莫教弦管的离声，是千古名句。「我亦且如常日醉」写我亦且如常日醉——那「我亦且如」写我亦且如，「常日醉」写常日醉，写尽我亦且如的常日醉；「莫教弦管作离声」写莫教弦管作离声——那「莫教弦管」写莫教弦管，「作离声」写作离声，写尽莫教弦管的离声。这句的深意在于：它以「我亦且如常日醉」的常日醉与「莫教弦管作离声」的离声，写尽莫教弦管的离声——我亦且如常日醉，那「我亦且如常日醉」写尽我亦且如的常日醉——我亦且如常日醉，正是如常而醉的写照，那「常日醉」写尽莫教弦管的离声；莫教弦管作离声，那「莫教弦管作离声」写尽莫教弦管的离声——莫教弦管作离声，正是莫作离歌的写照，那「离声」写尽莫教弦管的离声；那「我亦且如常日醉」写尽我亦且如的常日醉，那「莫教弦管作离声」写尽莫教弦管的离声，一写常日醉，一写离声，写尽莫教弦管的离声——如常而醉而莫作离歌，正是旷达的写照；此二句以常日醉、离声写尽莫教弦管的离声，也让此二句成为全诗写旷达的核心与千古名句。若换作直说「我也还像平常一样醉，别教弦管奏出离别的歌声」，则失其自然；唯以「我亦且如常日醉」写常日醉、「莫教弦管作离声」写离声，写尽莫教弦管的离声，也让此二句成为全诗写旷达的核心。

Ouyang Xiu's famous nonchalance is a courtesy. He will be drunk, he says, exactly as on any ordinary day—no special sorrow, no special show—and he asks the musicians not to play the parting airs. The order is almost moving in its restraint: by forbidding the melancholy music, he spares his hosts the pain he himself refuses to display. What looks like carelessness is in fact the most polished of courtesies, the elder statesman's way of making a farewell easy. The line is beloved precisely because it does not grieve aloud. To have said he would not be sad at leaving would be crude; the order to the orchestra is the whole grace.

Study

Word focus

明 Bright / clear. In 'willows lightly clear' (liu qing ming), ming describes the willows' fresh, luminous green. It carries both the visual brightness of the spring scene and a sense of the poet's cheerful ease, the word that lights the farewell setting. 「柳轻明」之「明」字是写送别关键词，一个「明」字写尽花光浓烂的柳轻明。明者，鲜明、明丽也。欧阳修以「柳轻明」写送别，这个「明」字至少有双重意味：其一，写柳之明——那「花光浓烂柳轻明」写花光浓烂柳轻明，那「明」字写尽花光浓烂的柳轻明——轻明，正是轻扬明丽的写照，那「明」字写尽花光浓烂的柳轻明；其二，写景之明——那「明」字更是写明——明，正见春光明媚的意味，那「明」字写尽欧阳修的欢愉。以「明」字写送别，正是欧阳修写旷达的枢纽——若换作「青」「绿」等字，则或失其与「花光浓烂柳轻明」「酌酒花前送我行」的配合，或失其写明的意味；唯「明」字，以花光浓烂柳轻明写尽柳条之轻扬与春景之明丽，与「酌酒花前送我行」的送我行相合，写尽花光浓烂的柳轻明，也让「花光浓烂柳轻明」成为全诗写送别的名句。

莫 Do not / lest. In 'do not let the strings sound a parting air,' mo is a gentle prohibition. It conveys both the wish that the music not betray farewell and the poet's composed, unwillingness to be grieved—the word that seals his easy grace. 「莫教弦管作离声」之「莫」字是写旷达关键词，一个「莫」字写尽莫教弦管的离声。莫者，不要、莫使也。欧阳修以「莫教弦管作离声」写旷达，这个「莫」字至少有双重意味：其一，写禁之莫——那「莫教弦管作离声」写莫教弦管作离声，那「莫」字写尽莫教弦管的离声——莫教，正是不要教使的写照，那「莫」字写尽莫教弦管的离声；其二，写情之旷——那「莫」字更是写旷——莫，正见不愿伤离的意味，那「莫」字写尽欧阳修的旷达。以「莫」字写旷达，正是欧阳修写离别的枢纽——若换作「勿」「休」等字，则或失其与「莫教弦管作离声」「我亦且如常日醉」的配合，或失其写莫的意味；唯「莫」字，以莫教弦管作离声写尽不愿伤离之意与旷达之胸怀，与「我亦且如常日醉」的常日醉相合，写尽莫教弦管的离声，也让「莫教弦管作离声」成为全诗写旷达的名句。

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